Ralph Hodge

Ralph Hodge of Novato displays the Bronze Star he received this month for his heroism in the Korean War more than 50 years ago.Hodge said he was told that the paperwork for his medal probably was lost on the battlefield.IJ photo/Robert Tong
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More than 50 years after serving in the Korean War, Ralph Hodge of Novato was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroism under attack.His Purple Heart is still on the way.

Hodge was a 21-year-old Army corporal with the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division and served on the front line as a forward observer during an enemy attack in 1952.Though he suffered a head wound after being hit by a grenade, he remained at his post under heavy fire.
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Rogers, a retired Army major in Tennessee, learned Hodge never received the award when the two got reacquainted in 2003 through a Web site for former members of the regiment.
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Rogers, now 88, made a renewed request and Hodge, now 73, was finally awarded the Bronze Star medal with a "V" Device for Valor this month.
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"I am honored, regardless of the length of time, because it demonstrates that it was not the Army's fault and they still recognize what I did," Hodge said."I dedicate the medal to the 50,000 men who lost their lives in Korea."

Senior officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presented him with the honor during the 4th annual Veterans and Small Business Outreach and Training Conference, which Hodge attended in Reno.He owns AFA Construction Group in Novato.

About two years ago, Hodge was surfing the Internet looking to reconnect with veteran friends when he came upon Rogers, who was searching for information on another man named Sgt.Allen from Nebraska who had died during an attack Sept. 17, 1952.

"The hair on my head rose," said Hodge, who recalled serving with Allen during that very attack.

"On the night of attack, thousands of Chinese soldiers were running toward a strategic point called Pork Chop Hill in North Korea and as they were attacking they used artillery fire to cover their approach," Hodge said.
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Hodge,'" Hodge recalled.

Hodge did not learn that Allen was killed that night until he spoke with Rogers in 2003.

"(Allen) ran back to his trench and a shell hit and killed him and I did not know it," Hodge said."I think I was the last person to speak to him.That was the last I ever heard of Sgt.Allen until I saw his name online."

Hodge was discharged from the Army as a staff sergeant in 1954.

In 1958, he received a commission from the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant and was a distinguished military graduate.

In October 1961 he was called to serve during the Berlin crisis and later served as a commander of a 250-man construction unit in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War.

He became deputy chief of staff for all Air Force bases in Alaska in 1982 and moved to Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato in 1985.He worked in San Francisco as the Air Force Regional Civil Engineer for design and construction of congressionally approved projects at the 33 Air Force bases in nine western states.He retired as a colonel in 1991.
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"He knew it was me from the moment I opened my mouth," Hodge said."He said, 'Are you Ralph Hodge?I have been looking for you for more than 50 years.'"

The men discovered Hodge never received his award.

"He said all my paperwork probably got lost on the battlefield," Hodge said."He said, 'We are going to get your medals.'"

Hodge recalled Rogers as a man he admired.Though the two have spoken almost daily since their first phone call, Hodge will visit Rogers for the first time next month.
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"He was 6-foot-7 and looked just like John Wayne," Hodge said.